SAND QUEEN

"Gut-wrenching.... not recommended for the faint of heart...a novel that will leave you deeply unsettled if not shaken to the root of your being."—Herald-Dispatch, September 2011

"Two women, an Iraqi refugee whose father and young brother were detained by American soldiers, and a 19-year-old American Army Specialist, wrestle with the complexities of war in Benedict's thrilling and thoughtful new novel."—Publishers Weekly, June 2011

REVIEWS

PRAISE FOR SAND QUEEN

"This is 'The Things They Carried’ for women in Iraq."—The Boston Globe, August 2011

". . . [I]t is clearly Ms. Benedict’s intention to turn stereotypes upside down, make readers squirm, and yet still keep them reading. Ms. Benedict pulls off this audacious gambit because she is an exceptional writer and storyteller. Her gritty depiction of a soldier’s life in the Iraq desert is particularly well done. SAND QUEEN is so powerful precisely because Helen Benedict is so pissed off.”—New York Journal of Books, August 2011

"This is an eyeopening novel that allows readers to step into the combat boots of a young, inexperienced female soldier living and working in a place where the line between friend and foe is nearly impossible to distinguish. Funny, shocking, painful, and, at times, deeply disturbing, SAND QUEEN takes readers beyond the news and onto the battlefield."—Booklist, June 2011

THE LONELY SOLDIER

“No matter your politics, this book is vital. Helen Benedict's brilliant and compassionate reporting is neither left nor right -- it's human. For a man reading The Lonely Soldier, you know these women -- they are your mother, sister, cousin, daughter. Their stories of injustice in the U.S. Military will tear your guts out.”—Dale Maharidge, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning And Their Children After Them

“As a 29-year Army and Army Reserve Colonel, I urge everyone─especially women considering joining the US military─to read this important book. Through unforgettable stories, The Lonely Soldier explains the shocking frequency of sexual assault and what can be done.”—Army Reserve Colonel Ann Wright

“It’s outrageously immoral that our female soldiers have to fear many of the male soldiers they serve with, as well as being let down by the very Veterans Affairs system that's supposed to help them out. Thanks to Helen Benedict, the world is watching!”—Roseanne Barr, Emmy Award-winning actor

PRAISE FOR THE LONELY SOLDIER

“Once again, Helen Benedict reports what others sweep under the rug, and reveals a pattern where others see random events. The Lonely Soldier will shock you and enrage you and bring you to tears. It’s must reading for everyone who cares about women, justice, fairness, the military, and the United States.”—Katha Pollitt, award-winning columnist for The Nation

“It is hard to determine what is most disturbing about this book—the devious and immoral tactics used by leaders and recruiters to get women to join the military, the terrible poverty and personal violence women were escaping that lead them to be vulnerable to such manipulation, the raping and harassing of women soldiers by their superiors and comrades once they got to Iraq, or the untreated homelessness, illnesses and madness that have haunted women since they came home. The Lonely Soldier is an important book, a crucial accounting of the shameful war on women who gave their bodies, lives and souls for their country.”—Eve Ensler, playwright, performer, activist and author of The Vagina Monologues